JauneNora
by UniqueArtist
Summary: Jaune finds Nora crying and attempts to cheer her up. A cute little one-shot, I love this friendship. I will live and die for "oh you're crying let me cheer you up" tropes. Small mention of Ren and Pyrrha but did not tag them.


He didn't know what to say. He didn't actually expect to walk in on this, either.

Jaune had opened the door to his dorm-room only to find Nora sitting on her bed, face red and tears streaming. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, hugging her knees to her chest.

She looked like she was breaking down.

Many thoughts flew through his mind. _What do I do? Why is she here? Everyone is supposed to be in class. Why is she crying? Where is Ren? Does Ren know? Does Pyrrha know? Pyrrha would be much better at this, probably. Should I call Pyrrha? I'm so confused._

"Sorry…" Nora spoke up, her voice softer than usual. She hadn't realized when Jaune stepped in. "I saw a sad movie, don't mind me. I'm so silly sometimes." She let out a fake laugh, but her wavering voice indicated that she was not telling the truth.

 _Jaune. You literally have seven sisters. Just do what you always did._

The blonde closed the door behind him, walked towards Nora, and sat next to her. Nora simply hugged her legs, resting her cheek on her knees so that she was not facing Jaune. She did not want him to see her like this.

"Hey.." He said gently.

"No. Don't do this." She muttered.

"... Do what?"

Nora lifted her head to finally look at Jaune. She motioned towards him.

"This whole… thing. That thing where people pity a crying girl and try to make her feel better when they really don't care."

"But I do care?" Jaune replied. He began questioning his behaviors in the past. _Have I not shown that I care about my team? Am I that bad of a leader?_

"Yeah, but… It doesn't matter..." She trailed off.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here." _No point in forcing her to talk, Jaune. Just let her know you're there. Think of your sisters._

"I… completely flunked my final… and professor Peach just started yelling at me in class today because she totally **hates** me. In front of everyone! I walked in late and went off on me... something about responsibilities, and why my _parents_ never taught me how to be punctual and behave and…. " Nora inhaled sharply, before whispering. "...The students… they just laughed and made fun of me… so I ran out."

Jaune's eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly he felt his blood slowly start to boil. He completely understood what it felt like to be put on the spot and laughed at. To be embarrassed and made fun of. It did not feel great at all. On top of that, it was a professor who initiated this. Couldn't she have just spoken to Nora after class? Why did she have to mention Nora's parents?

 _Think of your sisters._

The team leader made a mental note to go to Ozpin about this later. No one messes with his team, not even a professor.

Jaune had snapped out of his thoughts when he heard more sniffles coming from Nora, who now had her face buried in her arms. Because of her position, she literally looked like a sad little ball.

He shrugged.

"So what?" Jaune spoke in a low voice. He was staring at the wall straight ahead of him.

"W-what..?" Nora asked softly, lifting her pink face again to look at him.

"So what if you fail a final… You'll get it eventually. So what if those stupid students laugh. So what…- _they_ are the ones missing out. You're _truly_ a great friend, and a fun person to have around. Instead of cheering yourself up first, you think of everyone else. You never want to see someone sad, and you spend so much time being bubbly and trying to make everyone smile." Jaune said, now looking at her. "And... so what? Whatever those stupid students say… who cares. So what? Who needs 'em? They **don't** matter. They really don't. You know why?" He asked, looking at her seriously.

 _She_ _**is**_ _your sister._

"..Why?" Nora responded softly. The tears have stopped flowing, and her wide blue eyes were just looking at him.

"Because this is _your_ life. _Your_ path. You want to be a huntress? You can't let them push you off your path. You don't need them to get where you're going." Jaune said while putting his arm around the short redhead. "You already _have_ friends. You _have_ family," he motioned towards the three empty beds in the dorm room, "You _have_ talent. You're powerful, and a great fighter. What more do you need?"

"Hmm…" Nora let out a soft grin. "Pancakes. I need more pancakes in my life."

"Okay, you're right. My entire argument is invalid!" Jaune joked.

The two laughed.

"Jaune. Thank you." Nora smiled.

"Anything for a friend, Nora."

She proceeded to wrap her arms around Jaune and squeeze tightly.

"No! Can't! Breathe!"

"Oops, sorry!" She exclaimed, immediately dropping him.

On the other side of Team JNPR's door, Lie Ren can be found with his ear to the door and a small smile on his face.

 _Family._


End file.
